Sophia James - Marriage Made In Rebellion

The Penniless Lords

In want of a wealthy wife

Meet Daniel, Gabriel, Lucien and Francis Four lords, each down on his fortune and each in need of a wife of means.

From such beginnings, can these marriages of convenience turn into something more treasured than money?

Don’t miss this enthralling new quartet by Sophia James

Read Daniel, Gabriel, Lucien and Francis’s stories in

Marriage Made in Money Already available

Marriage Made in Shame Already available

Marriage Made in Rebellion Out now

Marriage Made in Hope Coming soon

She tasted like hope and home.

And of something else entirely.

Tristesse.

The French word for sadness came from nowhere, bathed in its own truth, but it was too soon to pay good mind to it and too late to want it different.

‘Only now, Lucien,’ she whispered. ‘I know it is all that each of us can promise, but it is enough.’

Marriage Made in Rebellion

Sophia James

www.millsandboon.co.uk

SOPHIA JAMESlives in Chelsea Bay, on Auckland, New Zealand’s North Shore, with her husband, who is an artist. She has a degree in English and History from Auckland University and believes her love of writing was formed by reading Georgette Heyer in the holidays at her grandmother’s house. Sophia enjoys getting feedback at sophiajames.co.

Author Note Author Note Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Extract Copyright

Marriage Made in Rebellion is the third story in my The Penniless Lords series.

Lucien Howard, the Earl of Ross, is a soldier, a fighter, a spy and a gifted linguist.

Alejandra Fernandez y Santo Domingo is the only daughter of a powerful Spanish guerrilla leader whose family has been decimated by the conflict.

They come together on the battlefields after Corunna in this dark and dangerous story of high-stakes warfare in a country that has been split apart by politics. It is also about a great love that conquers all.

Francis St Cartmail is next. When Lady Sephora Connaught falls from a bridge into the deep and fast-running Thames everything in her world changes.

The stranger who dives in to rescue her, the Earl of Douglas, is known as the black sheep of the ton and is a man of questionable reputation. Yet only with him does she finally feel safe.

I love feedback, and you can find me at sophiajames.co.

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Contents

Cover

Introduction The Penniless Lords In want of a wealthy wife Meet Daniel, Gabriel, Lucien and Francis Four lords, each down on his fortune and each in need of a wife of means. From such beginnings, can these marriages of convenience turn into something more treasured than money? Don’t miss this enthralling new quartet by Sophia James Read Daniel, Gabriel, Lucien and Francis’s stories in Marriage Made in Money Already available Marriage Made in Shame Already available Marriage Made in Rebellion Out now Marriage Made in Hope Coming soon

Excerpt She tasted like hope and home. And of something else entirely. Tristesse. The French word for sadness came from nowhere, bathed in its own truth, but it was too soon to pay good mind to it and too late to want it different. ‘Only now, Lucien,’ she whispered. ‘I know it is all that each of us can promise, but it is enough.’

Title Page Marriage Made in Rebellion Sophia James www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author SOPHIA JAMES lives in Chelsea Bay, on Auckland, New Zealand’s North Shore, with her husband, who is an artist. She has a degree in English and History from Auckland University and believes her love of writing was formed by reading Georgette Heyer in the holidays at her grandmother’s house. Sophia enjoys getting feedback at sophiajames.co .

Author Note Author Note Author Note Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Extract Copyright Marriage Made in Rebellion is the third story in my The Penniless Lords series. Lucien Howard, the Earl of Ross, is a soldier, a fighter, a spy and a gifted linguist. Alejandra Fernandez y Santo Domingo is the only daughter of a powerful Spanish guerrilla leader whose family has been decimated by the conflict. They come together on the battlefields after Corunna in this dark and dangerous story of high-stakes warfare in a country that has been split apart by politics. It is also about a great love that conquers all. Francis St Cartmail is next. When Lady Sephora Connaught falls from a bridge into the deep and fast-running Thames everything in her world changes. The stranger who dives in to rescue her, the Earl of Douglas, is known as the black sheep of the ton and is a man of questionable reputation. Yet only with him does she finally feel safe. I love feedback, and you can find me at sophiajames.co .

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

The English declare they will no longer respect neutrals on the sea; I will no longer recognise them on land.

Napoleon Bonaparte

A Coruña, Spain—January 16th, 1809

Captain Lucien Howard, the Earl of Ross, thought his nose was broken. His neck, too, probably, because he couldn’t move it at all. His horse lay upon him, her head bent sideways and liquid-brown eyes empty of life. A good mare she was, one that had brought him up the hard road from Lisboa through the snows of the Cantabrian Mountains and the slippery passways of mud and sleet. He swore silently and looked away.

It hurt to breathe, a worrying thought that, given the distance from any medical help. Another day and Napoleon and his generals would be all over the harbour. It was finished and the British had lost, the harsh winter eating into what was left of resistance and a mix-up with the ocean transports in from the southern port of Vigo.

God, if he wasn’t so badly hurt, he might have laughed, but the movement would have most likely killed him. It was so damn cold, his breath fogging as he fought for what little air he could drag in, but a mist had come up from the sea to mingle with the smoke of battle hanging thick across the valley.

Lucien was not afraid of death. It was the dying that worried him, the length and the breadth of it and the helplessness.

Lying back, he looked up into the heavens, hoping that it would be quick. He couldn’t pray; that sort of hope was long since past and had been for a while now. He could not even find the words to ask for forgiveness or penance. He had killed men, good and bad, in the name of king and country, but once one saw the whites of an enemy’s eyes, the old troths and promises held less sway than they once had.